The present invention relates broadly to a snack food in the nature of conventional pizza, and to related snack foods comprising unmodified or modified pizza dough base coated on the upper surface thereof with edible topping that is distinguished from conventional pizza only in some gustatory manner. Such alternative toppings can be uncooked, pre-cooked, or cooked as is a conventional pizza topping. If desired, for example, a baked mixture of chopped ham, diced onions and grated Swiss cheese can be applied.
Conventional pizza has been popular for some time. Generally, it refers to a large open baked pie made typically of rolled bread dough to provide a crisp yet chewy crust, with a spiced, or seasoned mixture of tomato sauce or paste, cheese and other optional ingredients including ground meat, sliced sausage or pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers, anchovies, etc. Tomato sauce and, stretchy and chewy mild flavor cheese, such as mozzarella, are considered a necessity. While the topping ingredients are significant insofar as the overall eating qualities of a pizza, the crust stands out as an essential component to a truly acceptable pizza. No matter how tasty and fancy are the topping ingredients, they are of little value if the crust is unacceptable such as being spongy, soggy, or flaky. Accordingly, the role of the topping ingredients is complimentary to the crust.
Pizza crust varies in thickness and crispness from the very thin, crispy Neapolitan-type pizza (about 1/4 inch thick) to the rather thick bread-like Romano-type pizza. Regardless of the type, the crust must not be porous so that the sauce of the topping does not penetrate the crust and weaken it. Pizza pies come in various sizes and shapes. Typically, they are made round with diameters ranging from 4 to 16 inches, and radially-cut for serving. Often, in the home or in establishments selling individual pizza pieces, the pizza pie is prepared in square or rectangular shape for efficiency and economy.
Pizza crust has been prepared traditionally from yeastraised dough. Typically, a good deal of time is expended on the preparation of the dough which after raising still requires the additional working, rolling, stretching, and panning before dressing the surface with the requisite topping, and final baking. For commercial establishments serving such items, and for the housewife, time is of the essence. Accordingly, refrigerated and frozen doughs have become very popular for preparing pizza as well as other snack foods. Unfortunately, however, such items must be maintained in the cold state to guard against spoilage. As a matter of fact, even under proper conditions the shelf-life for such doughs is quite limited.
In order to conserve on the time required for preparing pizza pies and pizza-like snack foods, I have found a dry mix which is most suitable for this purpose. My dry mix is adaptable for mixing with chilled water to provide a pourable batter which bakes to a crust surprisingly comparable to the traditional yeast-leavened crust.